The Very Last Mentee Email - Deets About End-of-the-Year Party, Race Report and Rantings...

[Vy Nguyễn Webster]

Dearest Mentees: 

I apologize for my emotional words this past Monday morning at our celebration. Speaking in public is not my best quality but I felt compelled to let you all know that you're all like family to me…especially *my* mentees. You’re all so special and have shown such dedication in your own way with fundraising and training. If anything, I hope the sentiment was there on Monday. If you’re trying to find me on FaceBook, I’m taking a mini hiatus from social media and focusing on healing before we leave for Kona on October 7. Please call, text or email me if you ever want to chat or get together!

I also wanted to let you all know that I was actually diagnosed with pneumonia and strep throat (hence the chills, the shortness of breath, the extreme fatigue…) on Monday afternoon. Not sure what to make of it except trying to get healthy. 

I’m feeling a lot better and cannot wait to see you at our IronTeam End-of-the-Year Party at Vasona Park on Saturday, October 5 at 11:00 AM.

Please bring condiments that are sliced and washed OR bread. If you choose bread please bring 3 packages of buns. Either way, please shoot me an email or text to let me know if you’re coming and what you’re bringing. 

Family is welcomed of course! Bring lawn chairs, $6 for parking and your own beverage of choice. Staff will bring more beverages as well as more beverages.

Read on if you’d like to hear my quasi race report / speech to IronTeam (v.2) and my rantings to the WTC…yes, I had some sentiments to share in their online survey. We encourage you to also reflect on your day – no matter the outcome. 

Love you mentees!

Vy Webster

A Note to IronTeam

Before I get to my “race report,” some major thank yous… 

1. Dennis...thank you for being the best manager. I don't know if you hear, "thank you" enough but THANK YOU! You drive me crazy half the time and for that I love you. You are truly one-of-a-kind. IronTeam wouldn't be the same without you.

2. Coaches, captains and fellow mentors...thank you for being so supportive and giving of your time, effort and heart. Ron, Jerald, Karen, Colin and Fairn...you all have unique talents and personalities. Combined, you make a perfect blend of leadership. 

3. Marnie, Joe, Eugene, Sue, Lydia and JF...you six are so fun. Your passion and heart for the team was felt at every practice.

4. Donna, Penny and Teresa...it's been wonderful working alongside you. You are all such giving and accomplished people and athletes.

5. Finally, participants...thank you for being such kick-ass triathletes and most importantly, people. Regardless of the outcome, you're ALL Ironmen / women. Most importantly, thank you for raising much-needed funds for blood cancers! My former Coach Frank told me that everyone should do IronTeam at least one other time. Maybe not next year, but definitely consider another season in the future!

Quasi Race Report

Wednesday through Friday leading up to Ironman Lake Tahoe was a blur. Trying to write sub plans for Thursday, Friday and Monday was a full-time job. Packing for unpredictable weather, the triathlon itself and normal clothes…plus food for the house we were staying out was consuming. However, we were on our way on Thursday! We arrived at Eric’s house for a short and much-appreciated stay until we checked into our own cabin on Friday.

Friday was check in, which went fine. Bryan was nursing a bug and I was trying to stay healthy. The wind throughout the valley was strong! 

Saturday was such a bad day. It was windier, rainy and snowy at times. I was chilly to the bone and feeling completely out of my element. I wish that I could come up to Lake Tahoe earlier but as a teacher, it’s really difficult to take off much time. Dropping off our T1 and T2 took so much longer with the traffic throughout town as well as the weather conditions. Double-bagging and wrapping everything so that it would be waterproof added another long step too. Preparing for a very cold bike ride also made it that much more challenging. During our Inspiration Dinner, I tried to keep it together and not alarm anyone (and to also perk myself up).  I came home and felt much better with the inspirational words heard and banked on the fact that it was just a 24-hour bug.

Sunday, I woke up feeling revved to go! I knew that I could accomplish my second Ironman-distance triathlon! How could I not? We had worked so hard to get here. Getting to the start was easy as we were in Tahoe City. Bryan dropped me off and I was able to set up my bike, warm up in the adjacent building and feel calmed enough to get into the water! I wish I had my booties because the sand was so cold. I went in with the 1’40”+ wave and it was perfect for me since I finished in 1’46” – 11 minutes slower than Vineman but I was happy with the time given that the water was colder and it took me more time to get acclimated. The stakes just felt higher today too. 

The actual swim itself was great…even breathing and stroking. The buoys were relatively well-sighted. There was also no kicks in the fact with the wave starts. Transition 1 was so slow given that the weather was cold and there were so many layers to put on. Getting into the tent and making my way to my bike was a long labyrinth! Overall…a 20+ minute T1!

The bike was fine through, Truckee. I felt a lot slower than when I trained up here. I guess that’s to be expected with the cold weather? But what obviously killed me was Martis Camp / Schaffer Mill. I was actually glad that Bryan and I didn’t preview it the day before or else it would have totally freaked me out. It worse than Brockway too! To have to walk my bike at certain points on these two passes was humbling. To hear from people who are on the design course committee that their probably cutting out Martis Camp / Schaffer Mil was upsetting. 

By the time I got to mile 52, I knew that I could make the 62-mile cut-off time of 2:00. However, I was faint climbing Brockway. I saw Bryan and he pushed me to keep going. But by the time I got to Lake Boulevard, I already knew that I needed to stop as soon as possible for my sanity and health. The chills came back and my equilibrium was not there. Mile 52 was where our cabin was located. I told my father-in-law that I wanted to stop. He took me up Old County Road and I DNF’d.

I was laden with guilt, disappointment and anger. But at the same time, I think I would have felt even worse if I endangered my health or someone else’s. I texted Dennis and Jerald to tell them I was okay. I showered and had some soup, which was all I could stomach. That afternoon, I arrived at Squaw with Bryan to cheer our IronTeamers! 

I was so proud to see so many people looking strong…Joseph, Garrett, Allison, Ali, Eric, Brian, Kevin, Paris, Fairn, Jerry, Cole, Eugene, Ed, Jerrold!!!

By 10:00 PM, I had to head home since I was freezing despite where a sweatshirt, my Flame jacket and my Charwal. 

Lessons I take away from this weekend…

- Always listen to your body!

- Remember that this was not just about my own journey…but everyone else’s and supporting them!

- Raising over $500,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

- Realizing that courage comes in many ways

- This was an extremely difficult course that caused over 500 people to also DNF and 400 people who didn’t even start!

- Keep pushing and reaching for your goals!

- Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2014 will be redemption with my husband!

Comments to WTC

Overall, my dissatisfaction stems from the fact that I got sick on the bike course. The weather conditions were also unbelievably difficult. The course itself was also grueling and more challenging that most other Ironmans based on research I did. Not being able to train in Schaffer's Mill / Martis Camp was such a disadvantage too. While I would have made the 62 mile cut-off, many of my teammates were pulled from the course before the time cut-offs at various points. My dissatisfaction doesn't stem from pre-event communication, registration, website, etc. It's about the actual race itself. The designers need to wake the hell up. This was total bullshit. Excuse my language but to have us climb over 6,000 feet at over 6,000 feet of elevation start is insane. To have us do a pass that we have not been able to train on, that is more difficult than Brockway is also unacceptable. I would have preferred a short athlete meeting and a coupon to dine at a local restaurant like at Ironman Whistler. There was also no water in the portable sinks! Having people get up at 7:00 AM to buy finisher’s gear on the day after the race is also really ridiculous. I will have redemption at Coeur d'Alene with my husband! Training with my Team in Training IronTeam has been the highlight of my training season. Raising $11,000 for blood cancers has also been a huge accomplishment.